One Day
by pearblossoms
Summary: Tina and Mike aren't exactly in the same boat as Rachel and Finn, but they certainly have dreams of the future.


"Can't sing, my ass," Tina's grin makes him want to float his way gently up into the clouds and the way her words tickle his nose makes his heart beat dangerously fast. It doesn't help that her clear, gorgeous voice during _L-O-V-E_ is still ringing in his head and it intoxicates him in the most mind-dizzying way.

"Well," Mike smiles sheepishly as they touch foreheads, "I have an amazing teacher."

Second only to steamy make out sessions that Mike wouldn't trade for a million dollars, singing lessons with Tina are his favorite past time. Granted, they usually end up _leading_ to steamy make out sessions, but that doesn't stop them from being insanely fun. He could listen to her sing all day and all night and it always makes him feel irrationally good when she praises his progress.

"Oh don't give me that," she scoffs, playing with the pink paper heart he had handed over to her, "You had it in you all along. We just had to coax it out. I don't know _who_ told you you can't sing but whoever it was needs to be smacked upside the head."

"Thanks T," he kisses her nose swiftly before holding out his hand for her to take, "You ready to head to class?"

"Yep," she takes his hand and their fingers slide naturally together, "Oh! I almost forgot to tell you!"

It alarms him when her eyes practically triple in size, "What? What is it?"

"Kurt told me that Rachel and Finn are _engaged_," Tina hisses as they walk down the hallway together, hands entwined, "_Engaged. _Can you _believe_ it?"

Mike's jaw drops almost instantaneously, "Are you _serious_? Are _they_ serious? Like _actually_ engaged?"

"I know, right?" Tina shakes her head, "Kurt's already dragged Rachel's dads into this- he thinks they'll be able to put a stop to it."

"Kurt's pretty pissed, huh?"

"Of course he is," she sighs, "They have huge dreams, both of them, for NYADA and onwards, and he's not gonna stand by and watch her toss it all in the incinerator just because she thinks she's ready to commit to a lifetime with Finn."

"You think engagement will kill off her future?" Mike asks gently.

Tina catches the tone in his voice in less than a millisecond, just like she always does, "I don't think _engagement_ will kill off her future. I think rushing into something might, though. They've been such a rocky couple and they act on every impulse, which might be okay except for when it comes to something as serious as getting married. They're seventeen, not twenty-seven. They've never even _left_ Lima."

"Agreed," he nods as they head off to math class together.

Mike doesn't want to get engaged to Tina right now. He doesn't want to get married to her either. In fact, the only thing he knows he wants is _her_. It's not that he would say no to an engagement, necessarily, but he also has no intention of getting married the way Rachel and Finn seem to want it. To be honest, he doesn't really care _what _their marital status is as long as they're together. They're perfectly happy with how things are. He knows it. She knows it. Hell, even their parents know it.

_"I think I could die a happy woman in Manhattan," Tina sighs happily as they stroll down the street together, arms loosely linked together. Being here for Nationals is totally surreal and it makes them both ecstatic beyond words._

_"Think you'd want to live here someday?" Mike asks, licking his ice cream before reaching out to let her have a lick as well._

_She runs her tongue along the scoop of rocky road and it strikes him as vaguely erotic but god knows they'd get into some serious shit if he randomly started tearing off her clothes in public. _

_"Someday..." Tina smiles, "You never know."_

_Mike would adore living in New York City as well; in fact, he's always loved Times Square, Rockefeller, Fifth Avenue... everything about the huge, sprawling city and he knows how much he'd love to go to school here. With Tina._

_As they make their way into a jewelry store, seeing as how Tina's been on the search for a gift for her mom from New York, Mike browses through the delicate jewelry while Tina scans the cases for a suitable necklace. Suddenly, as he passes by a display case full of rings, an idea strikes him across the head and before either of them know it, he's dragging her away from the necklaces she'd been eyeing, his eyes zeroing in on the rings. _

_"Mike! What are you doing?"_

_"Shhh," he presses a finger against her lips, suddenly spotting a simple yet gorgeous silver ring perched on top of a white case. It's exactly what he's looking for. He points at it resolutely and calls out to the sales attendant, "Excuse me? Could we take a look at this ring please?"_

_"Mike... Don't you dare do what I think you're about to do..."_

_"Shh," he repeats, "Don't worry, I'm not doing what you think I'm doing."_

_"What else could you possibly be doing with a ring?" Tina yelps._

_The attendant, a kind-looking elderly lady with smile lines etched around her mouth, retrieves the ring and hands it gingerly to Mike, who takes it and doesn't get on one knee. Instead, he slips it onto her middle finger, _not_ her ring finger, and grins, "It looks perfect on you."_

_"Mike, could you _please_ explain what's going on?"_

_"Tina... I'm not ready to get married. Hell, I don't even know what I'm having for dinner tomorrow, let alone what I'll be doing with my life. I don't know whether you'll do my the complete honor of being a part of my future, and I don't know where we'll be in ten years. But I do know that I love you more than I can coherently put into words and every moment with you is simply... perfect. I- I want to buy you this ring not because I'm proposing to you or even offering to exchange promise rings. You can take it however you'd like, but at the root of it all- I just think this ring will look beautiful on you and I want to buy it for you. Is that okay?"_

_He watches as her concerned frown slowly morphs into a beaming smile as she twists the ring around on her middle finger, "Mike... how someone like you with values almost entirely identical to mine ended up with someone like me is completely beyond me."_

_And with that, their lips meet for a kiss, completely disregarding the amused look from the sales associate behind the counter._

Tina twirls her ring around her finger now as a habit, usually when she's deep in thought. It's endearing and it makes him smile each time she does so, because it makes him think of the two of them together.

"What are we supposed to do about them? Rachel and Finn, I mean?" Tina asks, breaking him out of his reverie.

"What do you mean?"

"Well once they announce it to everyone, are we supposed to shoot it down? Play along? Support them? You know the rest of the club is going to flip a shit."

"Well... maybe what they'll need is some positive feedback, some words of encouragement. You know Kurt's going to be their voice of reason and the rest of them will probably yell and throw things. Maybe we need to lend a smile or two."

"I couldn't agree more," Tina grins, "Although I hope Kurt knocks some sense into the two of them before they somehow wind up actually being married."

"Same here."

They're quiet for a moment as they walk down the hallway together, until Mike opens his mouth to speak again.

"You think maybe one day...?"

Before he can even manage to finish his sentence, she successfully reads his mind and smiles softly, squeezing his hand tight, "One day."

"Really?" Mike breaks into an grin.

"Trust me, Mike. I've had quite a few dreams about a special day in our future. You, me, all our closest friends and family? Along with champagne and first dances..."

He can feel his heart practically balloon with excitement at the sincerity of her words and he lifts her hand to his lips, kissing it gently before smiling from ear to ear, "Sounds perfect."

* * *

><p>When the news finally hits the rest of the club, Mike and Tina sit back and watch the news simmer with everyone before entering the conversation.<p>

"...Which makes me really sad because I would have loved to see you in a bridesmaid dress, Quinn. And you as well, Kurt."

"I'd be happy to be a bridesmaid, Rachel," Tina pipes up, raising her hand with a smile, "I'm not sure I'm ready to get married..." She casts a quick glance over at Mike, "But I _do _know what being in love feels like."

The way she wraps her hand around his and beams up at him makes him want to jump on top of his chair and shout out his excitement to all of Lima. He's overcome with the urge to kiss her in front of everyone but the last time he did that Mr. Schue had placed them on opposite sides of the choir room until they "learned to sit near each other without feeling the need to profess their love in a PG-13 manner". So he refrains and keeps to himself, choosing instead to squeeze her hand gently in an attempt to promise a rather heated afternoon in his very empty house until his parents get home.

"We'll be there," Mike says quietly, his eyes totally and completely trained on Tina and his mind only partially on Rachel and Finn. Because his mind is swirling with a million and one different thoughts- half of which concern collegial adventures with his perfect girlfriend and half of which include wedding dresses and tuxes, and all of which include Tina Cohen-Chang. It's like a distant yet practically tangible vision of _their_ special day spiraling uncontrollably in his mind and all he wants to do is wrap it up into a little box and keep it with him forever. Call him a sentimental fool, but he knows it's out there somewhere for them. Tina might be able to see herself in a bridesmaid dress for Rachel, but Mike can only picture a wedding dress hugging every curve of her body as she walks down the aisle, poised to make him the luckiest guy on the planet.

_One day..._


End file.
